Live For Today... Tomorrow will take care of itself

Home can be a heaven on earth

Have you ever had those moments? Those glimpses of what heaven will be like? I lay in bed this morning and heard my house come to life as all the kids woke up. As I read my scriptures I listened as my oldest let my youngest help him make eggs. Instructing her ever so sweetly. I listened as my two other sons talked to each other. No fighting. No yelling. They just talked as they all made breakfast together. It is moments like these I hate to walk in on. So I just got to lay in bed and listen. Today is going to be a good day.

Halloween happens before Halloween

>> Tuesday, November 4, 2014 – Halloween

Am I the only one who feels this way? Our kids had trunk or treating, costume parades and Halloween parties all before Halloween night. It was cold and wet at our house on the 31st so I asked the kids if we could skip trick or treating down town. They took pity on me. We watched Hotel Transylvania and had homemade pizza instead. Here are some fun pictures of Halloween before Halloween.

Charlie after his pre school pumpkin patch field trip

Lucy, the cupcake and me, the color pink at our church Halloween party.

Frank: Captain Rex

Oliver: Mad Scientist

Charlie: Super Why

Our friend Hailey: gangster

Pumpkin carving time!!!!!!

Dinosaur, pirate, gypsy and crystal ball.

These are just the pictures I got of all that we did!

Here is hoping Thanksgiving only happens once ;)

Fluffy, dairy free waffles!!!

My weakness is a good, hefty breakfast. I would eat a full brunch buffet every morning if I could. Since the effort is too great and my waistline wouldn't fair well I settle on treating myself every once in a while. Pancake and waffle mixes have never been up to my high standard and I like making things that I know all the ingredients involved. Since my sweet baby has dictated that dairy is a big no no creating a light delicious waffle was getting harder... until now.

Light, fluffy, dairy free waffles

2 c coconut milk

2T lemon juice

2 eggs or the equivalent of chia seeds and water

2 c flour (white or wheat. I usually do half and half)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar or agave nectar

1/2 tsp salt

6 T coconut oil

Heat you waffle iron and get ready to rock your taste buds!

Put the 2T lemon juice in a measuring cup that holds more than 2 cups liquid. Add coconut milk to the measuring cup until it meets the 2 cup line. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Measure out 6T coconut oil keep it in solid form and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add 2 eggs to your coconut milk mixture and beat. Pour wet ingredients into large mixing bowl with dry ingredients. Add coconut oil and beat until all ingredients are well mixed. The batter will be thin but don't sweat it. Pour onto waffle iron (about a 1/3 cup per Belgian waffle). This makes about eight waffles. I usually top these babies with some homemade mixed berry topping. Enjoy!

Our first trip back to San Diego

>> Thursday, January 23, 2014 – family, good times, Vacation

'twas the day after Christmas about 8 in the morn. I hauled all the kids out to the car with a yawn. The car was all pack by yours truly, you see and to stay one more second was not ok with me.

I struggled through Christmas Eve and Day all alone. It was high time that our Daddy was home. Not home, but with us, as we traveled down south. In search of family, direct sunlight, and Mexican food that makes happy your mouth.

We picked up said daddy from work on our way. All of the boys shouted hip, hip, hooray. "Mommy is grumpy. I'm tired of driving. Are we there?," were all common phrases that tripped through the air.

We drove and we stopped and we drove, drove some more. "Geez, this is taking too long and I'm bored!"

We drove and we drove. From morning till night. After 14 LONG HOURS we saw Grammie's house lights.

Unload and sleep was the first thing to do and all of the rest came in a slew.

We first went to Sea World it was crowded, but fun. The kids got to play and the shows? We watched one.

It was good when I got to visit my Pure Fitness Pool crew. Everyone thought that Lucy was really cute too.

We visited Jesse's family, a first meeting for Lu. She handled it well. She smiled and cooed. The boys climbed a hill and opened some presents. Christmas extended! I heard no objections :)

Sunday was special. We blessed our sweet girl. She looked so beautiful in her dress. Flower with pearl. My treasure: my family. I know I can't do without. It is now complete. I have no breath of doubt.

Dropped Dad at the airport. Work calls him back home. Thank goodness the rest of us have more time to roam.

Sister time! I wish we could make it last longer. All our goofy ways make our bond that much stronger!

We spent time with more friends and hiked a mountain (well, the boys anyway). We relaxed and we played and they wanted to swim one fine day...

It lasted two seconds! My kids yelped as the cold seeped into their hide!! So they settled for playing outside the water, with a hose and water slide.

All to quickly for me, our time came to an end. We had to pack up the car and say farewell all over again. Thank you everyone for making our trip so great! We will be coming back soon. I really can't wait.

Our vacation in verse. I really can't believe I did that... on my phone even. Writing about our travels back is a post in itself!

It's about time to introduce this little girl

>> Monday, October 21, 2013 – Baby, family time, Wattson

Lucy Louise Wattson was born at 12:30pm on october 5, 2013. I know this post is long in coming! I don't think I will be sharing my birth story quite yet. It was pretty intense! What I can say is we are happy she is here. She is cute as can be and yes she also has a sensitive stomach. BOOO! Did I really think this one might be different? We are learning what works for her and what foods are taboo for me. Until I am ready to post my "bringing Lucy into the world" story here are a few pictures and a little of what is going on.

Getting some fresh air

Sporting the sparkly kicks

Hangin with mama

Family day at Natural Bridges Beach

She's got those baby blues

All my boys. They are getting so big. I have the grocery bill to prove it. I wish I had the energy to type more but things are getting better so we will be blogging more soon.

While we are waiting

(I started this before Lucy Lou was born)

So, it is a day after my due date and I am ready to be done. While we are waiting for angel girl how about a post about the happenings around these here parts. I really am loving it here. Mountain living is growing on me. I found a pool!! There is a YMCA less than 10 minutes from my house with a masters swim program. I am no longer without water! Thanks to awesome neighbors I have been able to go a couple of times to get the weight off my body and enjoy some me time. The boys love their school and their teachers. Being the crazy mom I am, I volunteered to arrange yearbook pages for each of their classes. I want to be involved where I can.

I am so grateful for our home, even with its problems. We moved in and I noticed it smelled like pot. Apparently, the last tenants were growers. Ugh! Our landlord did his best to get rid of the smell but it was still pretty strong. After a few air fresheners, disinfectant, odor neutralizers, and some paint things are getting better. Our next problem was a broken heater! Thanks to my awesome brother in law we got the correct part for a great price and got it installed. My boys are grateful to not have to sleep with three blankets or a 0 degree sleeping bag anymore.

Unpacking has been a process... An ongoing process. On Thursday I got some pictures up and hung some curtains on the living room. Jesse comes home and says, "Who did all this?"

I was so annoyed I almost smacked him. "Who do you think," I retorted.

"This is a lot. I just didn't expect you to do this."

"We'll, somebody has got to do it!!" (Please excuse the nesting crazy pregnant lady.)

So now our house is somewhat put together, all laundry is done, linens are changed, shopping is finished, and some dinners are pre-made in the freezer. We are ready for you Lucy.

The Y pool

Watching Handy Manny with tools

Singing to Lucy... who isn't out of my belly yet.

Keeping my head above water

So, the car ride up was brutal. We started off at 10 am and unfortunately did not get there until 9:00pm. Since my night's rest wasn't the greatest I tried to rest while my mom did most of the driving. I would just get to sleep and hear Charlie from the back seat "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mommy.."

"What?!" I would respond and be retorted to with toddlerese. The gist of the translation: don't go to sleep mom. No problem kid.

The last leg of our journey was up "the hill". That is what the locals call it. We are only 500 ft above sea level. As we start winding our way up every town gets a little smaller. We go through a town with one stop light. The next one doesn't even have a stop light or a store of any kind. Now I am getting nervous. We finally roll into Boulder Creek. Couple of store fronts, one or two grocery stores and the local bar etc. Almost all are closed down and it is dark. As we come to the only three way stop in town panic begins to settle in. "Oh no! I have moved my family to hickville!!! Mom, we are in the middle of no where," I whisper/shriek. In my over exhausted state of mind that is what it looked like. We go down the road a few more minutes and make it to the house. The moving van is there and only 1/3 unloaded. Though my stepdad and stepbrother left the night before they took a longer route and had only arrived an hour before us. I began to cry uncontrollably and begged my mom to find Jesse and bring him to the car. Our amazing church members were working to unload the truck and I could not keep it together. After talking to Jesse my angel mother took me and Charlie back down the hill to a hotel for the night. Finding a hotel Memorial Day weekend was an adventure in itself! After a better night sleep (Quality Inn really has amazing beds) we came back the next day. Things looked less bleak but still small town. After a crazy two and half days of unpacking and recovery I said good bye to my parents and stepbrother. Unpacking is still in progress but our house is slowly coming together. The boys love their new school and so do I. The town is small but I do have access to most things I need in under 20 minutes. I have made some friends but have yet to find a pool to fulfill my aquatic needs:). All in good time. Here are some pictures of our first few weeks.